Amu's Art Project
by claraowl
Summary: When you have four plotting charas, odd things can happen on a rainy day...


**Claraowl: Greetings to all ye who dare enter the lair of the Dragon Queen -**

**Miki: Um… I thought this was going to be a **_**Shugo Chara!**_** fan fiction….**

**Claraowl: Oops! Sorry. Eheh… Anyway, hello everyone! I own none of the characters, the story, or the setting, et cetera. Please enjoy! **

Amu sighed heavily, staring out of her classroom window. Rain pounded wildly against the glass, as if it were a crazy being, desperate to enter. It just _had_ to rain on the day that she had to clean up the classroom after school. Granted, it hadn't been raining so heavily earlier. She supposed that luck had decided to go against her, trapping her in the school building for another hour.

_Well,_ she thought, surveying the now-pristine classroom, _I guess I should just do my homework now. _She sat down at her desk as her charas bobbed over to her.

"Amu-chan," Su smiled, "I enjoyed cleaning up today ~desu."

"Thanks for your help, Su," Amu replied, "I never could've gotten the classroom this clean without you."

"Waxing the floor was overkill, though," Miki pointed out, settling on Amu's shoulder.

Su pouted, "At least I do a thorough job ~desu!"

"Are you implying that I don't?" Miki demanded, shooting off of Amu's shoulder.

"Hey, hey!" Ran shouted, jumping between them, "No fighting allowed!"

While Su and Miki bickered and Ran attempted to act as mediator, Dia had been listening to Amu talk about her assignment.

"So what do you think I should do for my assignment?" Amu asked, plucking Su and Miki out of the air and separating them.

"What assignment?" Miki questioned, forgetting her argument with Su.

"I have art homework -"

"Art!" Miki exclaimed, interrupting Amu. "Sorry, go on."

"I have to do a colored sketch of an ordinary thing, with a new twist on it."

Miki's eyes shone as she thought of all the possibilities.

"Shiny!" Dia beamed; she proceeded to stare at Miki for a minute and a half. At that point, Miki became aware of her observer and ceased shining.

"Hey, Amu-chan," Ran said, waving her pom-poms, "why don't you do something you know well?"

Miki grinned, understanding her sister's train of thought. She suggested, her eyes full of innocence, "How about a cat?"

Su added, "Or a vase of plants ~desu."

"Or a shiny piece of glass on a string!" Dia commented, winking.

"I don't know," Amu said, missing the point completely and resting her chin on her hand. "Nothing sounds right."

Ran glanced out the window. "Yay, it stopped raining!"

"Oh, good," Amu said, jumping up from her desk. "Mom and Dad'll be worried." The five of them hurried home.

After an explanation of what had happened and dinner had both taken place, Amu retreated to her room to work on her project. Upon entering, her eyes fell on something unusual.

"When did this vase of plants get here?" She walked over to her desk and picked it up. "Roses and… is this catnip?" Upon closer inspection, it proved to be such. She glanced around for anything else out of place. "Where did this string and mirror come from?" She glanced at her charas, who appeared to be sound asleep in their eggs. "A vase… a string with a mirror on it… all that's missing from their suggestions is a -"

"Cat," breathed a voice behind her, whispering into her ear.

Amu sighed. _I don't even have to look to know who that is._ "Hello, Ikuto. What evil plot by my charas brings you here?"

Ikuto feigned shock. "Your charas? Me? An evil plot? Never!"

Face reddening, Amu stated, "Fake shock works better when I can't feel you smirking into my neck."

"You mean like this?" he asked, pressing his face more firmly against her neck and grinning.

"No, you're actually smiling now."

"That's because you're so cute, my little strawberry."

"I repeat: What evil plot by my charas brings you here?"

"Why, a little being just told me that a certain little strawberry needed help with her art homework."

"Then release me and go sit over there; do a chara-change."

"Fine," Ikuto smirked, wondering why Amu was much calmer than usual. He chara-changed with a rather sleepy Yoru, who mumbled about fish.

"Here, Yoru," Amu said, holding up the string with the mirror attached, "hold this in front of Ikuto's face."

"Fish, nya~." Yoru mumbled, but did as he was told.

Ikuto's tail twitched. The light danced….

Amu set the vase of plants next to Ikuto, then hurried to her sketchpad. "Alright, I need you to hold up one hand as if to bat the string, Ikuto."

"Yes, Miss Artist," Ikuto smirked.

"Hold that smirk and put a rose in it."

"Why?"

"I'm sketching your face first, that's why."

"Why the rose?"

"You'll see."

"Fine." Ikuto consented and put the rose sideways in his mouth.

After fifteen minutes, Amu said, "I'm done with your face, batting arm, and upper torso. Now, I need you to spread the roses and catnip around you, as if you'd spilled them." After he'd done so, she walked over to him and placed a few pieces of catnip specifically.

"Picky, picky," Ikuto teased.

Amu ignored the comment and resumed sketching. A while later, she said that he could relax while she colored it. However, when he tried to get a peek at the uncolored drawing, she refused to let him see. She insisted that he wait until she finished.

A long while later - or so it seemed to the impatient and un-chara-changed cat - Amu finished the coloring and said that he was allowed to see it now. Ikuto crawled over to her and peered over her shoulder. His jaw dropped.

"Is it that bad?" Amu asked sadly.

Ikuto blinked a few times and said in a rather hoarse voice, "Not at all, Amu." After a few more moments, he said in his normal voice, "It looks like a photograph. Good job and good night." He kissed her cheek, called to Yoru, and left through her balcony door.

Amu handed it in the next day, titling it, "The Mischievous Kitten."

Then next week, it was displayed with the other art projects for the festival, where it was praised for its 'unexpected reality.'

The first night of the festival, Amu heard a tap-tap-tapping on her balcony door. She unlocked it and allowed Ikuto to enter. "Yes?"

"What did you do with the catn -" Ikuto abruptly cut off his sentence. The whole room reeked of catnip. A few minutes of wild scampering and a bit of purring later, he calmed down enough to say, "You didn't tell me that it was for the festival."

Amu smiled. "Oops."

Ikuto smirked, "Mischievous kitten, am I?"

"Yes," Amu stated defiantly, turning bright red.

Ikuto bit her ear.

"Ouch! What was that for?" Amu demanded, holding her ear.

"I was just being mischievous," Ikuto smirked; brushing a light kiss over her nose, he departed.

Amu stared after him for a few moments, bright red. She then marched over to her four charas' eggs. They peeked out at her, scared.

"I blame you."

The four charas giggled as Amu collapsed on her bed.

It just goes to show that a rainy day can bring interesting results.

**Claraowl: Well, how was it? Please review and let me know your thoughts! **

**Ikuto: Er, Amu, when can I take the rose out of my mouth?**

**Amu: *sketching* Hold on….**


End file.
